Rolled Fabric Roses Tutorial

Guest Author - Tamara Bostwick

Everywhere I look, I see flowers, and recently I fell in love with a pillow that was covered in fabric roses. As per my usual, I was not thrilled with the price of the pillow, nor did the colors match my decor, so I decided to make my own version. I tried a couple of techniques trying to replicate the flowers, and came up with this version that I am quite pleased with. This pretty little rose is quick and easy to make with a little bit of fabric and some simple stitching.

Here, I show you how to make the rose and turn it into a brooch that would make a wonderful Mother's Day gift or a nice token of affection for a friend.

The fabric I used is inexpensive polyester lining fabric. I found one bolt of fabric on the clearance rack at my local fabric store that was water resistant jacket lining that was perfect because it does not fray much. The regular polyester garment lining does fray so if that bothers you like it did me, it is quick and easy to singe the edges with a candle to seal them. If you do decide to burn the edges, be careful and move the fabric quickly by the flame so that your fabric doesn't burn more than you want it to or catch on fire. The fabric does not need to actually go into the flame, just near enough to slightly melt the edges. Try it out first on a scrap piece of fabric, and above all, be careful!

For the smaller rose that is perfect for making a pin, cut a strip approximately 4 inches wide. I used my rotary cutter to cut a freehand curve across the width of the fabric. Cut the strip in half so that you have two pieces (each strip will make two roses).

If you want to make larger roses, cut your strip 5 inches wide and use the entire strip.

Fold the fabric strip in half along the length and press the fold flat. Don't worry if the edges do not match up exactly, just try to keep the fold straight so that both ends are about the same width.

Sew a seam down the middle of the fabric following the crease that you pressed in. Use the longest stitch length that you can.

If you are making multiple flowers, be sure to not chain them close together because you need to leave a thread long enough to pull up to gather the strip.

Find a thread and pull on it gently to begin gathering the strip from one end. You will determine how tightly to gather the fabric as you assemble the rose, so just gather it fairly tightly for now. With your fingers, press the fold back into shape so that your strip is folded with the gathering seam at the bottom.